Lake County sheriff cuts off agencies' access to records system

LAKE COUNTY -- Some city and county law enforcement officials found themselves suddenly unable to use records software overseen by the sheriff's office Tuesday.

Sheriff Frank Rivero cut off access to the records information management system (RIMS) for Lakeport Police, the Lake County Probation Department, some jail officials and, as he put it, "some other administrative positions."

"I am auditing it for people who have unnecessary access to RIMS, because the system has high potential for abuse. I am removing everybody whose job doesn't require it, people who no longer work here and those who are abusing it," the sheriff said. "This absolutely does not impact officer or public safety."

But other officials wholeheartedly disagree.

"We use (RIMS) multiple times a day, and it absolutely puts my staff and the public in danger," Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen said.

Lakeport Police rely on the computer system for dispatch-generated records, such as daily police logs, booking records, sex-registrant compliance histories, statistics for grant-writing and information on calls of service, including officer response time, call nature and actions taken, according to a department statement released Wednesday.

The sheriff argued city police don't need access to the county's RIMS, and his review of who has a login is necessary to protect the public.

"People want information, and information is power," Rivero said. "I canceled a whole lot of people who had no business sticking their nose in our business. They can't just use this for entertainment. It is my obligation to make sure the people's privacy is protected."

The sheriff contended he had evidence of more than 600 examples of improper RIMS access by Lakeport Police officials this year, including one instance of an officer searching for and modifying information about his own wife.

Rasmussen responded to the claims, saying, "I've not been contacted about any allegations of 600 instances of inappropriate access."

Rivero granted Lakeport Police supervisors temporary access to the system Tuesday afternoon but said he would pull that provisional access effective Thursday morning because of his audit findings and alleged inconsistencies in Rasmussen's statements.

The probation department, which had about 15 people with system logins, currently does not have access to the RIMS software.

Rivero offered to allow one probation official access to RIMS, but Chief Probation Officer Rob Howe said he's looking for another solution.

"It's terribly inefficient," Howe said of the sheriff's proposal. "I'd probably have to assign one person to just do that."

The access suspension came without any advanced warning, according to Howe, who said he asked Rivero if there was evidence of any impropriety by probation officials but had not received a response as of Wednesday afternoon.

For the probation department, the system login would be used to either input current information about probationers or quickly obtain details about offenders in custody at the county jail while preparing written reports for the courts, Howe said.

As for jail access, Rivero said he found "an excessive number (of officers) at the jail who had access to adding and removing warrants (from RIMS), and I wanted to taper that down."

Rivero said he made the access-restriction decisions while conducting a routine review of RIMS, which he called "the Holy Grail of law enforcement information for Lake County" containing a wealth of personal, sometimes private, details about citizens.

District 5 Supervisor Rob Brown said he thought Rivero's actions were politically motivated as well as "immature and psychotic."

"I am tired of playing games with this guy," Brown added. "It's one thing for him to cost the taxpayers money, but for him to risk the safety of the citizens over his childish behavior is unacceptable."

The Lakeport Police chief contends RIMS access is a vital part of the city's dispatch agreement with the county, which dates back to 2005 and calls for the city to pay $87,600 annually for services.

In addition to providing dispatch and radio-communication services for Lakeport Police, the county must also "operate and maintain the city's police wanted person file (and) provide city police with access to statewide and national crime computer networks upon request," according to the contract.

There is no direct reference to RIMS in the city-county dispatch agreement.

Rivero said he continues to allow Lakeport Police access to less in-depth computer-aided dispatch (CAD) information through a method different from RIMS.

The sheriff has come under fire for RIMS decisions in the past. He was criticized after suspending access for Lake County District Attorney's Office investigators in April 2011 after he said he received reports of DA personnel inappropriately using the system.

DA Don Anderson said Rivero agreed to allow DA investigators read-only access to RIMS in October 2011 but never lived up to that deal.

"Before Rivero took office, all Lake County law enforcement had access to RIMS. It was a wonderful thing, cooperative, and we shared information," Anderson said.

The DA added that the RIMS changes under Rivero hinder investigations, threaten public safety and increase the risks for law enforcement. "God help him if an officer gets hurt because of his vindictiveness," Anderson said.

The first-term sheriff has been a controversial figure throughout his two-plus years in office, but the situation began coming to a head in early March when news became public about Anderson's determination that Rivero lied after a 2008 on-duty shooting.

Rivero, who denies the untruthfulness allegation and challenges the DA's finding in a pending lawsuit, subsequently received a vote of no confidence from all five county supervisors, denied their request for his resignation and became the target of a recall effort.

Howe and assistant probation chief Brian Martin are listed among the 18 proponents on the recall petition approved for circulation last week. Both said their decisions to become involved in the recall effort were based on their personal views and in no way reflected or represented the views of their department.

Notes: Managing editor Mandy Feder contributed to the reporting of this story. Additionally, a previous version of this article incorrectly listed Clearlake Police among the affected agencies. Lake County Publishing regrets the error.